I've been spinning this CD every Christmas season since it came out in 88.' One of the best Jam & Lewis productions. This should be deemed a Christmas Classic.

"Sleigh Ride" (Fake) is FUNKY!!!






1) My Gift To You
2) Sleigh Ride
3) Our First Christmas
4) Remember Why (it's Christmas)
5) Little Drummer Boy
6) Christmas Song
7) This Christmas
8) Winter Wonderland
9) Thank You For A Good Year
10) Remember Why (it's Christmas) (reprise)


Holiday records were a staple of the Motown, Atlantic, and Stax release schedules during the golden age of soul music, but in the 1980s few R&B acts picked up the baton. Although it hasn't dated particularly well, My Gift to You nevertheless remains an admirable and energetic attempt to revive the Christmas album concept for a new generation, pairing Alexander O'Neal with the hitmaking production duo of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to create a lushly romantic set considerably more thoughtful and heartfelt than your average yuletide cash-in. Half of the album's ten songs are Jam/Lewis originals, and even if none of them emerged as contemporary standards, they do a good job of capturing both the secular ("Our First Christmas") and spiritual ("Remember Why It's Christmas") dimensions of the season. O'Neal also delivers shopworn material like "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Winter Wonderland" with conviction, saving his most potent performance for the Donny Hathaway classic "This Christmas." There's no getting around the trademark Jam/Lewis production, though. My Gift to You is plainly a product of its era, complete with thick synthesizers and programmed rhythms, and is best enjoyed by listeners still hoping Santa brings them acid-washed jeans and Members Only jackets regardless of the year in question.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I love this album. I listen to it every Christmas. I bought it with the second artwork there. The first one is cheap ass lookin'. I like all the tunes on there, but especially the new ones. Remember Why (It's Christmas) and Our First Christmas are good, too.

Walked in2 the mall and saw ya
Doin ur Christmas shoppin
Walked in2 the toy department
We met under the misseltoe
Thats when...
ooo houuohhh
We fell in love
And its our first Christmas

I love Lisa Keith's vocal and The Sounds of Blackness on:
"Remember Why, It's Christmas."

Classic.

This is a very good album.

tricky2 said:

Now I aint got this album..if u recommend that one....i gotta hear it